North Macedonia: Mickoski challenges - "I will call my country Macedonia, if you want, let's go to The Hague"

North Macedonia's new prime minister, Christian Mickoski, has followed the line of the new president, Gordana Silianovska, in launching an attack on the Prespa Agreement.

In his statements, Mickoski argued that it is the country's constitutional right to be called as it wishes. When asked by a journalist to comment on Silianovska's statements at her inauguration, he emphasized that he was dignified and that he "expected congratulations from our southern neighbor" (Greece).

Mickoski also called on Greece to stop the "attacks" against his country and stated that if Greece has a problem, they should go to the court in The Hague.

"We expect to have good and excellent neighborly relations. I appreciate that VMRO and the government there led by New Democracy have their own position on the Prespa Agreement. None of us likes this agreement," Mickoski characteristically commented, calling it his "basic human right" to call his country as he wishes in public discourse and in the media.

"We have no violation of the Prespa Agreement, and I use this opportunity to tell our friends from Greece to stop the threats. Let's look to the future, these are documents that are part of the law. If they think we violated the agreement, then there is an International Court of Justice, so we can talk there. I would not like this to happen, I call for us to have friendly relations, to help each other. And if anyone expects VMRO to repeat the mistakes of the past, rest assured that we will not do that," added Mickoski.

"We want economic cooperation, and I take this opportunity to invite Greek companies to invest in my country. We want to welcome them as well as our companies to invest in Greece - this is how partners should work together. We want good neighborly relations, and I expect to meet the Greek Prime Minister soon to discuss cooperation in tourism, economy, education, and so on," Mickoski concluded.